Spraying apparatus

ABSTRACT

A spray head supplies paint under pressure and is mounted for pivotal movement through 90*. A spray nozzle receives the paint from the spray head and has a passage which converges towards its outlet. The spray nozzle is also mounted for 90* pivotal movement, and coupling means couples the spray head with the spray nozzle, so that the same will move in unison between their respective positions so that the spray nozzle may be pivoted from spraying position to a position in which its outlet is directed away from the surface to be sprayed and permits clearing of the passage.

United States Patent [191 Hammelmann [451 Aug. 14, 1973 SPRAYING APPARATUS [22] Filed: Nov. 30, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 203,494

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Dec. 1, 1970 Gennany P 20 59 038.9

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,202,360 8/1965 OBrein 239/119 2,369,424 2/1945 Barlow 1 18/323 Primary Examiner-Henry S. Jaudon Attorney-Michael S. Striker [57] ABSTRACT A spray head supplies paint under pressure and is mounted for pivotal movement through 90. A spray nozzle receives the paint from the spray head and has a passage which converges towards its outlet. The spray nozzle is also mounted for 90 pivotal movement, and coupling means couples the spray head with the spray nozzle, so that the same will move in unison between their respective positions so that the spray nozzle may be pivoted from spraying position to a position in which its outlet is directed away from the surface to be sprayed and permits clearing of the passage.

8 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures Pmmmwsmms Y 531 17 sum 2 or 4 PAIENIED AUS 1 4:915

SHEEI 3 0F 4 SPRAYING APPARATUS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to a spraying device, and more particularly to a spraying device for paint and the like.

Paint spraying devices, whether manually held or mounted devices, are already known. Such devices have spray nozzles provided with a passage for the fluid to be sprayed, with the passage tapering or converging towards the outlet of the nozzle. Many substances, and in particular of course paint, tend to eventually clog such passages which must then be freed again. For this purpose it is known to provide in manually held spray devices a so-called reversible spray nozzle which is provided in a substantially spherical or otherwise suitably configurated body. If the converging passage becomes clogged by a plug of paint or other matter, the nozzle is reversed so that the supply conduit for the pressurized paint now discharges not into the wider end of the passage but into the outlet end thereof, so that the plug is forcibly ejected by the pressurized paint from the wider end of the passage.

In circumstances where large surface areas are to be painted rapidly, it is known to provide several highpressure spray devices adjacent one another. Because the same problem relative to clogging occurs in these devices as in manually held ones, it is known to provide these devices also with reversible spray nozzles. However, to date the reversing of such nozzles has always been carried out manually. This means that the devices must be moved in suitable manner to a position in which the nozzles can be reached by an operator for manual reversal and after the passages of the nozzles have been cleared, the nozzles must again be reversed to normal operating position and the devices must be restored to their position of use and must be newly adjusted with reference to the surface to be painted. This is of course all very time-consuming and, in the final analysis, expensive.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore a general object of the present invention to overcome these disadvantages.

More particularly it is an object of the present invention to provide a spraying apparatus in which these disadvantages are avoided.

A concomitant object is to provide such a spraying apparatus in which the cleaning of spray nozzles can be effected in the briefest possible time.

Still another object of the invention is to provide such a spraying apparatus in which the movement of the spray nozzles and associated components to and from operating position need not be carried out manually, and in which the interruption of the spraying operation with subsequently necessary new adjustment of the device with reference to the surface being painted, is no longer required.

Still another object of the invention is to provide such an apparatus in which it is impossible for plugs of paint or other matter which are ejected in the clearing of the nozzles, to contact the surface being painted.

In pursuance of these and others objects which will become apparent hereafter, one feature of the invention resides, in an apparatus of the character herein described, in a combination of a device for supplying fluid under pressure, and first mounting meansmounting the device for pivotal displacement between a first and a second position. The spray nozzle is operatively associated with the device for receiving liquid therefrom and for dispensing such liquid as a spray; the spray nozzle has an outlet opening anda flow passage for the liquid which converges towards the outlet opening. Second mounting means mounts the spray nozzle for pivotal movement between a spraying position and a passageclearing position.

Coupling means couples the spray nozzle with the device for movement of the spray nozzle from its spraying position to its clearing position in response to movement of the device from first to second position, and vice versa.

The displacement of the device and of the spray nozzle is through and the spray nozzle turns through 90 in a direction opposite to the 90 movement of the device itself. This means that with reference to the device the spray nozzle carries out a pivoting movement through and in this position the narrow outlet of the flow passage communicates directly with the supply conduit or pipe from which'the spray nozzle receives pressurized liquid from the device, whereas the wider end of the passage-which in normal operation is the inlet end-faces outwardly so that a plug of contaminant which is deposited in the passage clogging the same can be readily ejected. Moreover, because the entire arrangement was displaced from normal operating position through a 90 arc, theejected plug cannot impinge upon the surface being painted.

The apparatus of the present invention can be moved from its normal operating position and back to it very rapidly, and in fact the clearing of the nozzle passage can be effected within fractions of a second, so that it is not necessary during the clearing operation to terminate the operation of the apparatus, and consequently no new adjustment of the apparatus subsequent to the clearing operation and prior to resumption of the spraying operation, is required.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its constructionand its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will best be understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic top-plan view of an apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side-elevational view as seen from the left of FIG. 1, illustrating the operating position in full lines and the clearing position in broken lines;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 but illustrating the operating position in broken lines and the clearing position in full lines;

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal section through a spray nozzle of the apparatus in FIGS. l3, showing the nozzle in operating position; and

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 but showing the nozzle in clearing position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Discussing the drawing in detail, and firstly FIGS. 1-3, it will be seen that I have there illustrated an apparatus which is provided with three spray heads or spray devices 1, 2, 3. Of course, such apparatus could have more than three devices, or it could only have a single one of these devices. In any case these devices are of the type well known as high-pressure spray nozzles and are mounted laterally spaced from one another on a shaft 4 which is turnably journalled in supports 5 and 6. An outrigger or arm 7 is provided at one end on the shaft 4, fast therewith and extending transversely to the elongation of the shaft 4. When the latter turns, the devices l3 can turn with it through 90, as will be evident by comparing the full-line and broken-line positions in FIGS. 2 and 3.

A drive 8 engages the arm 7 in order to effect such pivoting movement, and the drive may for instance be in form of an electromagnetic device, or in form of a pneumatically or hydraulically operated cylinder-andpiston unit. This does not form a part of the present invention and will therefore not be described in detail.

Each of the devices 1-3 is operatively associated with a spray nozzle 9, the details of which are shown in FIG. 4 showing one such nozzle 9 in a longitudinal section and in operating or spraying position, and in FIG. 5 which shows the same nozzle but in clearing position. As is most clearly evident from FIGS. 4 and 5, the nozzles 9 have a housing 91 into which is threaded a connector 92 by means of which they are connected in suitable manner with the respectively associated spray head 1, 2 or 3. The passage 93 of the connector 92 receives pressurized paint or the like from the respectively associated spray head and supplies it to the actual nozzle. The actual spray nozzle is mounted in the housing 91 and is configurated as a well known nozzle construction provided in a spherical or cylindrical member 94 which is mounted in the housing 91 for turning movement about the axis 18. The nozzle passage 95 provided in the member 94 converges continuously to the outlet end, and the wide end of the passage 95 normally faces the passage 93 whereas the outlet end faces the outlet opening 96 in the housing 91; the outlet opening 96 will normally face the surface to be painted or otherwise sprayed. At opposite lateral sides of the housing 91 the member 94 is provided with projections 10, for instance of quadratic or otherwise suitably configurated cross-section, by means of which the member 94 can be made to turn. When the member 94 is thus made to turn through 180 about the turning axis 18, the outlet end of the passage 95 will face towards the passage 93, contrary to the normal operating position in FIG. 4, and at the same time the wider end of the passage 95 will face the outlet opening 96, also contrary to the position in FIG. 4. Pressurized paint or the like supplied through the contact 93 will thus enter the outlet end of the passage 95 and a plug of material tending to clog the passage can be readily ejected from the passage 95 through the wider end thereof.

The projections 10 of the several nozzles 9 (refer to FIG. 1) are coupled by means of suitable coupling rods, tubes or the like which are identified with reference numerals 11 and 12, so that in the illustrated embodiment the members 94 in all three of the nozzles 9 will turn in unison.

As FIG. 1 shows, but as is particularly well illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the projection 10 on the left-hand side of the left-hand nozzle 9 is provided with a rod 13 one end of which is connected to it; the other end of this rod 13 is slidably guided in a bore 14 provided in a tumable journal 16 which is turnably journalled in a support 15. The turning axis 18 and the turning axis 17 (see FIG. 1) extend in parallelism with one another, but are offset vertically, that is they are located at different levels of elevation.

The various components are all mounted on a base or frame 19, and it will be appreciated that when the drive 8 is operated, the device 1 (to use an example) pivots about the axis 17 from the full-line position of FIG. 2 to the full-line position of FIG. 3. At the same time the nozzle units 9 move from the full-line position of FIG. 2 to the full-line position of FIG. 3, with the rod 13 sliding appropriately in the bore 14 and effecting turning ofthe respective member 94 through 186 from the position of FIG. 4 (which it is assumes when the nozzle unit 9 is in full-line position of FIG. 2) to the position of FIG. 5 which it assumes when the nozzle unit 9 is in the full-line position of FIG. 3). Because the supply of pressurized paint or the like is not terminated, because the displacement takes place very rapidly-within a fraction of a seconda plug in the respective passage 95 can be ejected, clearing the passagebut without any danger of the plug contacting the surface being paintedand the nozzles returned to operating position in which they discharge paint or similar liquid against the surface in question, without interrupting the operating of the device at all. Consequently, there is also no need for readjusting the device, and of course this operation and all these comments are equally applicable to the other nozzle units 9 and their associated devices 2 and 3.

Clearly, therefore, the disadvantages of the prior art have been overcome and the objects of the present invention have been realized.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other types of constructions differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a spraying device, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can by applying current knowledge readily adapt it for vari ous applications without omitting features that from the standpoint of prior art fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims:

1. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, a device for supplying liquid under pressure; first mounting means mounting said device for pivotal displacement between a first and a second position; a spray nozzle operatively associated with said device for receiving liquid therefrom and for dispensing such liuqid as a spray, said spray nozzle having an inlet opening, an outlet opening and a flow passage for the liquid which converges towards said outlet opening; second mounting means mounting said spray nozzle for pivotal movement between a spraying position in which said inlet opening communicates with said device and a passage-clearing position in which said outlet opening communicates with said device; and coupling means coupling said spray nozzle with said device for movement of said spray nozzle from said spraying position to said clearing position in response to movement of said device from said first to said second position, and vice versa.

2. In an apparatus as defined in claim 1; further comprising at least one additional device similar to the firstmentioned device, said first mounting means mounting said additional device also for pivotal displacement between said first and second positions; at least one additional spray nozzle similar to the first-mentioned spray nozzle and operatively associated with said additional device, said second mounting means mounting said additional spray nozzle also for pivotal movement between said spraying and clearing positions; and wherein said coupling means couples said spray nozzles for pivotal movement in unison between said spraying and clearing positions.

3. In an apparatus as defined in claim 2 further comprising a pair of spaced supports, said first mounting means comprising shaft means journalled in said supports and connected with said devices for effecting displacement of the same in unison, an arm fast with and projecting transversely of said shaft means, and moving means operatively'associated with said arm for displacing the same in a sense effecting turning of said shaft means so as to displace said devices in unison between said first and second positions thereof.

4. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, a device for supplying liquid under pressure; first mounting means mounting said device for pivotal displacement through 90 between a first and a second position; a spray nozzle operatively associated with said device for receiving liquid therefrom and for dispensing such liquid as a spray, said spray nozzle having an outlet opening and a flow passage for the liquid which converges towards said outlet opening; second mounting means mounting said spray nozzle for pivotal movement through 180 relative to said device between a spraying position and a passage-clearing position; and coupling means coupling said spray nozzle with said device for movement of said spray nozzle from said spray- 6 ing position to said clearing position inresponse to movement of said device from said first to said second position, and vice versa.

5. in an apparatus of the character described, in combination, a device for supplying liquid under pressure; first mounting means mounting said device for pivotal displacement through about a first axis between a first and a second position; a spray nozzle operatively associated with said device for receiving liquid therefrom and for dispensing such liquid as a spray, said spray nozzle having an outlet opening and a flow passage for the liquid which converges towards said outlet opening; second mounting means mounting said spray nozzle for pivotal movement through 90 between a spraying position and a passage-clearing position about a second axis paralleling said first axis but located at a different level of elevation from the same; and coupling means coupling said spray nozzle with said device for movement of said spray nozzle from said spraying position to said clearing position in response to movement of said device from said first to saidsecond position, and vice versa.

6. In an apparatus as defined in claim 5, said first mounting means comprising a first mount mounting said device for displacement about a first axis; said second mounting means comprising a second mount mounting said spray nozzle for displacement about a second axis parallel to said first axis; and said coupling means comprising a member turnable about a third axis parallel tobut at a different level than said first axis and having a bore transverse to said third axis, and a rod member fixedly connected with said spray nozzle and slidably guided in said bore so as to extend transversely of said axes.

7. In an apparatus as defined in claim 6 further comprising a support, and said member being connected with said support turnable relative thereto about said third axis.

8. In an apparatus as defined in claim 7', wherein said member is connected with said support at a level of elevation higher than that of said first axis, so that said third axis is located at a higher level than said first axis. I? i 

1. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, a device for supplying liquid under pressure; first mounting means mounting said device for pivotal displacement between a first and a second position; a spray nozzle operatively associated with said device for receiving liquid therefrom and for dispensing such liuqid as a spray, said spray nozzle having an inlet opening, an outlet opening and a flow passage for the liquid which converges towards said outlet opening; second mounting means mounting said spray nozzle for pivotal movement between a spraying position in which said inlet opening communicates with said device and a passage-clearing position in which said outlet opening communicates with said device; and coupling means coupling said spray nozzle with said device for movement of said spray nozzle from said spraying position to said clearing position in response to movement of said device from said first to said second position, and vice versa.
 2. In an apparatus as defined in claim 1; further comprising at least one additional device similar to the first-mentioned device, said first mounting means mounting said additional device also for pivotal displacement between said first and second positions; at least one additional spray nozzle similar to the first-mentioned spray nozzle and operatively associated with said additional device, said second mounting means mounting said additional spray nozzle also for pivotal movement between said spraying and clearing positions; and wherein said coupling means couples said spray nozzles for pivotal movement in unison between said spraying and clearing positions.
 3. In an apparatus as defined in claim 2 further comprising a pair of spaced supports, said first mounting means comprising shaft means journalled in said supports and connected with said devices for effecting displacement of the same in unison, an arm fast with and projecting transversely of said shaft means, and moving means operatively associated with said arm for displacing the same in a sense effecting turning of said shaft means so as to displace said devices in unison between said first and second positions thereof.
 4. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, a device for supplying liquid under pressure; first mounting means mounting said device for pivotal displacement through 90* between a first and a second position; a spray nozzle operatively associated with said device for receiving liquid therefrom and for dispensing such liquid as a spray, said spray nozzle having an outlet opening and a flow passage for the liquid which converges towards said outlet opening; second mounting means mounting said spray nozzle for pivotal movement through 180* relative to said device between a spraying position and a passage-clearing position; and coupling means coupling said spray nozzle with said device for movement of said spray nozzle from said spraying position to said clearing position in response to movement of said device from said first to said second position, and vice versa.
 5. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, a device for supplying liquid under pressure; first mounting means mounting said device for pivotal displacement through 90* about a first axis between a first and a second position; a spray nozzle operatively associated with said device for receiving liquid therefrom and for dispensing such liquid as a spray, said spray nozzle having an outlet opening and a flow passage for the liquid which converges towards said outlet opening; second mounting means mounting said spray nozzle for pivotal movement through 90* between a spraying position and a passage-clearing position about a second axis paralleling said first axis but located at a different level of elevation from the same; and coupling means coupling said spray nozzle with said device for movement of said spray nozzle from said spraying position to said clearing position in response to movement of said device from said first to said second position, and vice versa.
 6. In an apparatus as defined in claim 5, said first mounting means comprising a first mount mounting said device for displacement about a first axis; said second mounting means comprising a second mount mounting said spray nozzle for displacement about a second axis parallel to said first axis; and said coupling means comprising a member turnable about a third axis parallel to but at a different level than said first axis and having a bore transverse to said third axis, and a rod member fixedly connected with said spray nozzle and slidably guided in said bore so as to extend transversely of said axes.
 7. In an apparatus as defined in claim 6 further comprising a support, and said member being connected with said support turnable relative thereto about said third axis.
 8. In an apparatus as defined in claim 7, wherein said member is connected with said support at a level of elevation higher than that of said first axis, so that said third axis is located at a higher level than said first axis. 